Lens-grinding machine



mi Sept. 5 1922, 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. J. DE WILLE. LENS GRINDJNG MACHINE. ArPLxcATroN FILED Amm, 1919.AQ'YS'?,

INVENTOR f 2% .MM

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/\.1. DE WILLE.

LENS GHINDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 21, ISIO.

2 SHEETS-*SHEET l. 4@

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'10 smoothing and polishing a plurality of pinions 25. A taper pin 20prevents rela 65 Patented Sept. 5,4 1922.'- 927,77

v:ANTHONY JOSEPH DE WILLE, or sU'rERsvILLE, PENnsYLvANIA.

LENS-GRINDING MACHINE.

Application led April 21, 1919. Serial No; 291,657.

To all 'whom t may concern.' tool 17 on the upper spindle. The spindlesBe it known that I, ANTHONY JOSEPH 15 and 24 are in alignment and, ofcourse,

DE Winmx, a citizen of Belgium, and a resiare equal in number. dent ofSutersville, in the county of West- In the center ofthebasev 5 is ajournal 27 moreland and State of Pennsylvania, have and mounted thereinand in the sleeve 21 isa -60 made a new and useful Invention in LensVlower vertical shaft 28 which may be driven Grinding MachinesLgfwliichthe following by, bevel gears 28a run by a motor similar is aspecification. to the motor 12`but not shown. Keyed to My invention is amachine for grinding, the shaft 28 is a gear 29 meshing with the lenses,which is simple of construction, eastive rotation between the sleeve 21and the ily attended and wherein all work is under shaft andconsequently between the lower constant supervision of an operator.Other spindle wheel 22 and the upper spindle advantages appear in thedescriptionV and wheel 13. The pin 20 is only removed when in thedrawings forming part of this speci- `the machine is' stationary and itis desired '70 ication. to raise the spindle wheel 13 with all of In thedrawings Figure 1 is a' view and in its depending tools fromjuxtaposition with part a section through the'center of my mathecooperating tools on the spindle wheel chine; Fig. 2 is a horizontalsection on line 22. A pin 31 may be inserted through the 2--2 of Fig. 1;Fig. 3 is an enlarged section wheel 22 and the gear 29 to prevent their75 through the spindles which carry the lenses relative rotation.Another pin 32, if inand tools operating on the same and. Fig. 4 sertedas shown, will prevent rotation of the is a similar section showingother tools of wheel 13 and, by means of the locked sleeve the spindles.21 and the shaft 10 will also prevent the ro- The frame of my machineconsists of a tation of the wheel 22. The use of these 80 base 5rectangular 0r circular in Shape, pins enable Ine t0 Secure the rotatlOn0f the sides 6.and top 7 Depending from the top laps and the holders asdescribed below. 7 are several fixed shafts 8 and mounted Operation: Therotation of the shaft 10, thereon is a circular spider 9 having spur ineither direction, revolves the pinions 1 6 gear teeth on itscircumference. and 25 about the machine center or common 85 Journaled inthe top 7 and the spider 9 axis. rlhe teeth on the spider 9 will rotateis a vertical shaft 10 which is driven by the pinions 16 on theirrespective axes. If bevel gears 11 run by a motor 12 mounted the pin 3liS in P1210@ the' gear 29 and the on the-frame.' Keyed to the shaft 10is an shaft 28 will rotate with the wheel 22 and upper spindle wheel 13provided about itsl the spindles 24: Will 11011 IOti fbOllt their' 90circumference with a plurality of bearings axes although they willrevolve aroundtheil 14 in vertical pairs, in each )air of .which isCOIlmOIl Center. By vIemovlng the pin 3l journaled a spindle 15 having apinion 16 and by rotating the shaft 28 in the opposite keyed to itsupper end and meshing with direction from the shaft 10, the gear 29 willthe teeth on the spider rim 9. On the lower rotate the pinions 24causing greater rela- 95 end of the spindle 15 is a grinding, Smoothtiverotation between the cooperatlng tools. ing or polishing tool 17 such asshown in If the pill 32 be inserted, 2S ShOWIl, the the drawings or ofany other convenient spindle wheels 13 and 32 cannot rotate and if form.A collar 18 on the spindle 15 limits' the shaft 28 be rotated the lowerspindlesxwill the latters downward movement while its be rotated whilethe upper ones are` fixed. 100

upward movement is yieldingly prevented With this operation there is norevolution by a coil spring 19. Secured to the lower about the commoncenter and an operator end of the shaft 10 by a pin 20 is a sleeve 21.may confine his attention to a single lens. Fixedly mounted Von thissleeve is a lower During the previously described operations 5o spindlewheel 22 provided about its circumthe tools pass a given point insuccession and 1'0 5` ference with a plurality of bea-rings 23 in mayeasily be inspected `for lubrication, lapvertical pairs, in each pair ofwhich is jourpin material., finished sizes, etc. naled a hollow spindle24. Keyed to they ile the lapping tools used may be of spindle 24 is apinion 25 and mounted on its any type for grinding, smoothing orpolishupper end is a tool 26 cooperating with the ing, lll show oneimproved form in theupper lll) i number of irregularly located spots andinto each of these tapped holes a dat pointed screw 33 is inserted untilits point extends beyond the body surface. A lock nut 34 is thentightened against the body to maintain the screw in adjusted position.rEhe points of the screws 33 constitute the lapping surfaces which, whenworn, may be removed and replaced or resharpened without removing thewhole tool from the machine. By adjusting theselapping screws thecurvature may be maintained While wear on an ordinary lap necessitatesnew laps or reshaping. The tool 30 is eccentrieally mounted on thespindle 15 by means of a ball and socket joint which, with yieldingpressure due to spring 19, gives a very flexible but constant contactwith the surface of the lens 35 which is cemented tothe holder 35acarried by the spindle 24..

In Fig. 3 I show the holder 36 andv the lensV 35 mounted upon the upperspindle and with a lap 37 mounted on the lower spindle. This .lapoperatesl on the entire surface of the lens and is novel in' the featureof having small conical depressions 38 provided in itsfa'ce which areadapted to be filled with a lapping material which will be drawn outas'needed. Surplus material will drain through the hollow spindle24. lnorder to regulate this drainage, l thread the spindle 24 internally andinsert -a' plug 39 having a central aperture extending throughout itsentire length. A.- plug 39 is split into quarters for a substantial'part of its length', and is provided with a tapered external thread atthe split end and a transverse hole 39, as shown, or a square shoulderat the opposite end whereby it Vmay `be screwed in or out of the spindle24. It is apparent that the plug 39 may be compressed by forcing thesplit tapered porktions together until the opening is as small asdesired. y

The surplus lapping material drains into "a pan 40 supported onprojections 41 provided on the frame (i. -On the frame 6 are mountedrollers 42 which support the spindle wheel 22.

Reference has been made to the removal of the pin 2O and the raising ofthe wheel 13 and its spindles. These parts may be held in any desiredposition by means of a lever 43 and a collar 44 which engages a shoulder49 on the shaft 10. The lever 43l pivots on a fulcrum 45 and is securedby a rod 46 which terminates in a hook 4'? adapted to englge teeth 48 onthe side 6 of the frame.

ile l have only illustrated a concaveconvex lens in my' drawings it isobvious that other types may. be worked by substituting proper toolswithout necessitating 'other changes in my machine. Various mame?changes also may be made in ,the lappin or polishing tools suchasvdepressions o rectangular or ring shape instead of as shown.

I claim.: Y

l. A lens grinding machine comprising a plurality of lens holdersrotatively mounted on individual axes and revolvingly Vmounted about acommon axis, an equal plurality-of laps rotatively mounted onin-'dividual axes and revolvingly mounted about said common axis, each ofsaid laps being located in cooperative position relative to a respectiveholder, .means adapted lto rotatesaid holders about their individ ualaxes, and means adapted to .similarly rotate said laps about theirindividual axes, and to revolve said holders and laps about said commonaxis.

2. A lens grinding machine comprising, a plurality of lens holders, aplurality of lap members co-operating therewith, means for revolvingsaid holders and said lap members around a common center, means forrotating said holders and said laps upon their respective axes and meansfor locking said holders and said laps against revolution and rotation.

3. A lens grinding machine comprising a plurality of lens holdersrotatively mounted upon respective axes and revolvingly mounted about acommon axis, respective laps aligned with said holders and revolvinglymounted about said common axis, means rotating each of said holders onits individual aXis, meanslrevolvging said holders and laps about saidcommon axis and means maintaining alignment of respective holders andlaps.

4. The combination in a lens grinding machine of a plurality of lensholders rotatively mounted upon individual axes' and spaced cireularlyabout the machine center, respective laps alinedwith said holders andsimilarlyspaced and means ada ted to rotate said holders on theirindivldual axes, said holders and laps being so mounted that any holder,while rotating,'and its respective lap may be revolved to any desiredpoint about the machine center.

5. In a lens grinding machine, a vertical lower shaft, a vertical uppershaft alined therewith, independent drivin lmeans for each of saidshafts, spaced splndle wheels xedly mounted on said upper shaft, aplurality of spindles mounted on the circumference of each of saidwheels, each spindle on rotation of said spindles when either of said vshafts is rotated.

6.- In a lens grinding machine, a' main shaft, spaced spindle wheelsmounted thereon, lap holding spindles and lens holding spindlesjournaled respectively in said wheels, integral pinions on each of saidspindles, a fixed gear meshing with all of the pinions on said lapholding spindles, a supplementary shaft, a rotatable gear fixed thereonand meshing with all of the pinions on said lens holding spindles andindependent driving mechanisms for said shafts.

7. A lens grinding machine comprising, a plurality of lens holders, aplurality of lap members co-operating therewith, means for revolvingsaid holders and said lap members around a common center, means forrotating said holders and said laps upon their respective axes and meansfor locking said laps against revolution and rotation.

8. A lens grinding machine comprising, a plurality of lens holders, aplurality of lap members co-operating therewith, means for revolvingsaid holders and said lap members around a common center, means forrotating said holders and said laps upon their respective axes and meansfor locking said holders against rotation.

9. A lens grinding machine comprising, a plurality of lens holders, aplurality of lap members co-operating therewith, means for revolvingsaid holders and said lap members around a common center, means forrotating said holders and said laps upon their respective axes and'meansfor locking said laps againsn revolution and rotation and said holdersagainst revolution.

. 10. A lens grinding machine comprising a lens holder, a shaft, a lapcarried thereby and co-operating with said holder, means forsimultaneously moving said holder and said lap in parallel planes, meansfor causing the rotation of said holder, means for rotating said shaftand lap about the longitudinal axes thereof and means for locking saidholder and said lap against move-` ment within their respective planes.

11. A lens grinding machine comprising a lens holder, a lap co-operatingtherewith, means for moving said holder and said lap in parallel planes,means for rotating said for locking said lap upon its axis, andindependent means for rotating said holder in a direction opposite tothe direction of rotation of said lap.

12. A lens grinding machine comprising a lens holder, a lap co-operatingtherewith, means for moving said holder and said lap in parallel planes,means for rotating said lap upon its axis, independent means forrotating said holder upon its axis, and means for locking said holderand said lap against movement within their respective planes.

13. A lens grinding machine comprising a lens holder, a lap co-operatingtherewith, means for moving said holder and said lap in parallel planes,means for rotating said lap upon its axis, independent means forrotating said holder upon its axis,

holder and said lap against movementl within their respective planes andsaid la against rotation upon its axis.

14.v lens grinding machine comprising a lens holder, a lap co-operatingtherewith, means for moving said holder and said lap in parallel planes,means for rotating said lap upon its axes, independent means forrotating said holder upon its axis, and means for selectively lockingsaid holder and said lap against rotation.

15. A lens grinding machine comprising, a lens holder, a lap memberco-operating therewith, planetary gear mechanism for rotating saidholder and said lap upon their axes, and means for moving said holderand said lap member in directions transverse to the axis of rotationthereof.

16. A lens grinding machine comprising, -a rotatable lens holdingmember, a rotatable lap member cooperatng therewith, means for revolvingsaid holding member and said lap member in directions transverse to the-axis of rotation thereof and means for moving one of said members awayfrom the other.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 11th dayof March, 1919.

ANTHONY JOSEPH DE WILLE.

and means

